C. A. Janke

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Sep, 2019

Stories (8)

8 Stories

240 karma pts

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“"Know What I Mean?"” by C. A. Janke

“What do you mean?”“What do you mean ‘what do I mean?’”“You know what I mean.”“No, I don’t.”“Yes, you do.”“Nope.”“Quit it.”“You totes know, man, quit it.”“Who are you?”“Yeah, who are you?”“I’m a third guy.”“Oh, nonono—” “A third guy? Yeah, absolutely not.”“This is gonna get way too complicated with three guys.”“Yeah, seriously convoluted. Get outta here.”“Fine. Whatever. You guys aren’t even that interesting to talk to anyway.”

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“A Millennium Hoard” by C. A. Janke

Four million six hundred thousand and eighty-seven, four million six hundred thousand and eighty-eight, four million six hundred thousand… Nearly seven days had passed since he began and almost every relic, coin, gem, weapon, bone, miscellaneous magical artifact, and whatever-else-have-you was categorized and accounted for. This was easily his largest hoard yet, and though Wyrith had kept only his most favourite thousand or so rubies from his preceding collection, this hoard was already more than double his last largest on...

11 comments 11 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Blue Hour” by C. A. Janke

Thomas stood outside in the cold, snowflakes landing on his shoulders and melting in his curls. Hands tucked in wool-lined pockets, boots planted on the icy sidewalk, he gazed up at the sign of the new bookstore, Blue Hour Books. He’d thought the name curious when he’d first passed it by days ago, yet curiouser still how he hadn’t truly noticed the building until now.Blue Hour Books, though it had only opened a week before, radiated the quality of a long-standing staple in his small town. The new owner ha...

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“The Knight and His Lady” by C. A. Janke

The first time he saw her, he was tucked up in the branches of an old oak. On clear, cool nights like these, after a day spent working away under the scorch of sun, he found himself drawn to the ancient forest, climbing up into the rough arms of trees to see the stars.On this night, he ventured deeper into the woods than he had on any other, as if some invisible thread was gently tugging, tugging him in. The air was sweet with late summer blooms and damp earth, the soft buzzings of nocturnal life the only sound accompanying his foo...

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“Adventures in Retail” by C. A. Janke

I clock in at 9:53 and drop into a wobbly chair in the break room (I’m not getting paid for those extra seven minutes anyway), barely suppressing a shudder at the reality of what my life will be for the next eight hours; a sales shift on a weekend during the holiday season (no such thing as "pre" anymore). The large table in the center of the room is adorned with a seasonally appropriate plastic tablecloth, but the snowman and reindeer seem to mock me, smiling and prancing about, knowing they will be safe back here all day.I check ...

5 comments 5 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“Candy Corn and Pumpkin Pie” by C. A. Janke

It was a stupid idea to buy the pumpkin, but when Deanna saw that perfect, picturesque gourd shining amongst its lumpy, bumpy cousins, something in her screamed to bring it home.It looked like it had been plucked straight from a children’s cartoon about celebrating the magic of Hallowe’en. A curling brown stem, pristine, blemish-free flesh the colour of autumn leaves. And its size! Hefty, but not oversized to the point of being grotesque.That last part of its charm vanished ten minutes into Deanna’s walk home from the grocer...

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“Adrift” by C. A. Janke

No one can tell anything is amiss. I make sure of that.I sit in class. I raise my hand. I participate in group discussions.I go to work. I chat with coworkers. I type away at a computer.I take a walk. I nod at passersby. I pet a dog.Most days, I remember no faces, recall no words. It’s better this way.Each of these experiences is as real/unreal as the last.Today, I am both marionette and puppeteer. I tilt and twist and guide my body along. I delicately, masterfully...

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“On, Off” by C. A. Janke

On, off. On, off. Onoffonoffonoff. On. I’d been standing in the cramped hall of my apartment for a full five minutes, just watching the bulb flicker.Well, I’d been seeing that light glitch out for weeks now. It’s just that today I decided to plant my feet and stare until my vision went screwy.It was always that same pattern. On and off, on and off, then it would rapid-fire blink, then it would be on again for a few moments before starting the whole damn routine over again. I th...

23 comments 23 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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Author bio

Lover of Horror and Fantasy and all things whimsical and weird.

Shortlisted 3 stories ⭐️

Contest #185
A Millennium Hoard – read story
Contest #173
Adventures in Retail – read story
Contest #149
On, Off – read story